2012-09-24
2012-10-02
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x florida

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MSNBCW 97
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English 97

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numbers showing president obama ahead by eight points in iowa and four points in florida. while the swing state map is what everybody is watching the swing states are the most important to keep an eye on because that's where you wrap up the votes that allow you to win the election, there's new national polling now for what it's worth. there's new polling every day. the republican leaning poll is out with their new national numbers today. their national tracking poll putting president obama up by one point nationally. the gallup tracking poll putting president obama up by three points today nationally. that's in big picture perspective of what's going on in the presidential race. for an even bigger picture perspective on those national numbers, i should point out to you that of the last 20 national presidential polls, of the 20 national polls taken in the month of september, every single one of those it 20 polls shows president obama winning nationally. the range varies from one point up to eight points in some other polls. but 20 straight national polls showing president obama ahead. that

to be an american. >> and -- >> no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. >> and this tweet, obama sympathizes with attackers in egypt. and then last night -- >> he's not a real president. >> tonight on "hardball" we show you the true ugly campaign being run against the president. even in the face of this ugly attack, there are two big new poll numbers running in his direction. we give them to you tonight. let's check the hardball scoreboard. according to a "new york times"/cbs/quinnipiac poll, obama leads romney by ten points. down in florida, the president's lead in the poll is nine, 53-44. the president looks to be opening up a big lead now, even in the face of this coordinated attack from the right. with me now are mother jones bureau chief and msnbc political contributor david corn and cynthia tucker. i want to talk about the good news for the obama team right now. cynthia, why do you think -- take a minute here -- despite this ugly campaign i've just pointed out in its pattern, its thread, what they are doing to try to delegitimize this president, why is he doing well in the

and florida. according to "the washington post," president obama has a four-point lead over mitt romney in florida. four points down there in a very tough state. 51%,/47% for obama. in ohio, the president's lead is a more comfortable eight points. 52/44. that's dramatic. we have joining us -- let's take a look at that for a minute. howard fineman, thank you for joining us, and joe klein of "time" magazine. thank you. it strikes me the numbers i put out tonight, and i'm going to get all through them, shows a party obliterated to reality. she don't seem to watch the news. don't seem to know the huge fight that went on when we realized there was no weapons of mass destruction in iraq. that was the whole reality we lived in, the disillusionment on the right, the confusion in the middle, the anger on the left. they didn't even experience that period of time? >> well, chris, to put a charitably, i think the republican party today is the nostalgia party. that was my sense of it having kind of marinated in their world view down in tampa at the republican convention. they think of a simpler worl

street journal"/marist poll, president obama has a slight lead in nevada and north carolina but basically within the margin of error. and in virginia, a new poll from suffolk university/nbc 12 puts obama slightly ahead of romney, also within the margin of error. so, how can romney turn it around? it may not be easy. some people within this romney campaign have concluded he's not actually a very good politician. here's what one romney official explained to politico. he said -- now romney's former rival newt gingrich doesn't go quite that far, but he says that romney needs to reform his thinking. >> i think they're only now beginning to come to grips with the general election. they had a very -- >> scary -- >> they had a very successful primary strategy. in a primary you can raise enough money to build a motor boat and drive to where you want to get to in the primary. in the general election you're like a sail boat. the system is so much bigger than you. >> it is hard to go from a motor boat to a sail boat, known who is familiar with yachting knows that. ben smith, i want to g

of what's being used to defeat president obama. newt gingrich. what if obama is so outside our comprehension that only if you understand kenyon anti-colonial behavior can you begin to piece together his actions. and -- >> i would like to have him show his birth certificate, because if he can't, then he has pulled one of the great cons in the history of politics. >> and -- >> i wish this president would love how to be an american. >> and -- >> no one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. >> and this rank twees, obama sympathizes with attackers in egypt. and then last night -- >> he's not a real president. >> tonight on "hardball" we show you the true ugly campaign being run against the president. even in the face of this ugly attack, there are two big new poll numbers running in his direction. we give them to you tonight. let's check the hardball scoreboard. according to a "new york times"/cbs/quinnipiac poll, obama leads romney by ten points. down in florida, the president's lead in the poll is nine, 53-44. the president looks to be opening up a big lead now, even in the fa

obama is in new york right now. >> america wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy. >> there was president obama giving a speech. >> i accept people are going to call me awful things every day. >> then there was mitt romney. >> the few words from bill clinton can do a man a lot of good. >> if he's going to double down on that 47, that will cause difficulties. >> wait a couple of days for that bounce. >> he has no past that i can ever spot. >> i can appreciate your kind words. >> when i was a boy i used to think that becoming rich and becoming famous would make me happy. boy, was i right. >> yeah, he said that. with just 42 days until the presidential election and with a new poll showing mitt romney's path to the presidency rapidly narrowing, paul ryan is rapidly realizing that he is well on his way to becoming the next losing vice president candidate. so he is desperately trying to avoid the stench of romney. yes, the stench. that is what paul ryan is actually calling mitt romney, according to politico. reportedly he has been marching around the campaign bus saying

trailing. according to a new fox news poll, president obama leads romney by five points among likely voters nationwide. 48% to 43%. catch that, the fox poll. highly significant there. let's go right now to howard on this question. it looks to me like this divorce papers are pretty much out there right now. all that you hear now is romney doesn't really want to be stuck in that little basement where they cut medicare. >> well, mitt romney was on the campaign trail today saying, i have a little secret, i'm going to win pennsylvania. okay. he's not going to win pennsylvania. >> it's the oldest state in the union. >> he's not going to win pennsylvania with paul ryan's profile on medicare or budget cutting or anything else. so if mitt romney is serious about making a play in pennsylvania, that just underscores how inconvenient paul ryan has become. look, mitt romney did not pick paul ryan because of paul ryan's medicare or budget programs. he picked paul ryan because of his youthfulness, because of the cultural appeal, because of what paul ryan himself calls the deer hunter catholic that he is,

the gravity of the challenges that we face in the broader middle east. >> meanwhile, the obama campaign is out with a new ad, it takes aim at romney's experience at bain capital, spotlighting workers who said they lost their jobs because governor romney was more concerned about short-term profits than creating jobs. >> people need to know what mitt romney did to miriam, indiana, in 1994. >> you don't just come in and take everything everybody's got and destroy a business. i mean, that's what they did. >> when you take away all the good-paying jobs such as we had here at gst steel in kansas city, the middle class is going to become extinct. >> neither obama nor romney have public events scheduled for today, but vice president joe biden and paul ryan were both on the trail. the vice president was in florida this morning, ryan is in new hampshire and is traveling to ohio for an event tonight. we will, of course, have more on all of these stories over the next two hours. in case you have not heard, the countdown is on to colorado. even though both campaigns are playing the lowered expectations gam

opportunities. the continued talk and tv ad about welfare recipients, obama being a food stamp president, the filibuster to shut down the first african-american president and the continued talk by people like donald trump of this birtherism nonsense. shameless. that's the word for it. it's the program of the party of abraham lincoln for 2012, do you believe it? i don't think he would be very proud of this stuff. it's incredible so many are. it's no way to win an election. that's "hardball" for now. "politicsnation" with al sharpton starts right now. >> thanks, chris. and thanks to you for tuning in. i'm live in columbia, south carolina. part of our continuing fight against republican efforts to suppress the vote. today is national voter reg rags day and we'll be talking about that later. but we begin with tonight's lead. it's the policy, stupid. more evidence the romney campaign is in deep trouble, support sagging in poll after poll. the candidate continuing to commit gaffes. but today mitt romney put a brave face on all that and after bill clinton introduced him at an event, today he ac

. he was in new hampshire this morning, arguing that president obama can't be trusted to deal with the national debt and that mitt romney can. >> as a result of the president's advocation of leadership, as a result of seeing the most predictable economic crisis in our country's history and not fixing it, our credit rating was downgraded for the first time in our history. when mitt romney was governor, the credit rating of his state was upgraded. that's the kind of change that we'll get with a mitt romney presidency. >> governor scott walker, republican from wisconsin, is also in new hampshire today, stumping on behalf of the romney campaign. earlier today, he spoke at the state's gop convention. meanwhile, today, vice president joe biden is in florida. he wrapped up an event in ft. myers not long ago, where he said mitt romney and paul ryan will block any bipartisan attempts to reduce the debt. >> paul ryan even voted against the simpson/bowles plan he talked about now, as a member of the commission. it's important to know why. because they will not vote for a single solitary

goals of this debate camp here in nevada. the obama campaign trying to get the president to give shorter, sharper answers in part so that he can get all of this key points now. they say the president tends to be professorial sometimes. that's what they want to avoid. they want to give direct and crisp answers. also to avoid potentially looking condescending. that's one of the big things they're worried about here. so far president obama has had four mock debates with senator john kerry who is of course no stranger to presidential debates. he also i can tell you had one more practice session last night after president obama had a campaign event in las vegas. now, as you pointed out, both sides are really trying to tamper down expectations. lavishing praise on the other candidate. that is because there's so much at stake in these debates really for most candidates. mitt romney tried to turn his campaign around, but president obama trying to hold on to the narrow lead you mentioned in your introduction. really trying to tamp down expectations. should also point out that president obama hold

to a new fox news poll, president obama leads romney by five points among likely voters nationwide. 48% to 43%. catch that, the fox poll. highly significant there. let's go right now to howard on this question. it looks to me like this divorce papers are pretty much out there right now. all that you hear now is romney doesn't really want to be stuck in that little basement where they cut medicare. >> well, mitt romney was on the campaign trail today saying, i have a little secret, i'm going to win pennsylvania. okay. he's not going to win pennsylvania. >> it's the oldest state in the union. >> he's not going to win pennsylvania with paul ryan's profile on medicare or budget cutting or anything else. so if mitt romney is serious about making a play in pennsylvania, that just underscores how inconvenient paul ryan has become. look, mitt romney did not pick paul ryan because of paul ryan's medicare or budget programs. he picked paul ryan because of his youthfulness, because of the cultural appeal, because of what paul ryan himself calls the deer hunter catholic that he is, okay? that migh

. the president's lead in ohio is starting to look dominant. in a fox news poll, president obama leads by seven points. a "washington post" poll puts the president up by eight points in ohio. and the most recent poll by cbs and "the new york times" has president obama leading by ten points. romney was in ohio today, making a new pitch to voters. he's the guy who understands their pain. >> there are so many in our country that are hurting right now. i want to help them. i know what it takes to get an economy going again and creating jobs. >> voters in ohio don't believe romney on this front at all. when it comes to the economy, 51% of ohio voters say they trust president obama against 45% of voters who trust mitt romney. obama has an advantage on the economy in ohio, because basically, this state is a national success story when it comes to the economy. listen to mitt romney's ohio surrogate, governor john kasich. doesn't sound like there's much reason for ohio voters to make a change. >> you know, i hope you all know that ohio's coming back from 48th in job creation to number four, number one i

because the obama campaign continues to use this against him. they have a new ad out in ohio this morning that uses that 47% comment against him. >> alex, romney went again after president obama for not meeting with benjamin netanyahu. mitt romney said he should be more specific about his own foreign policy, and listen to. >> well, let's see what i've done since i came into office. i said i'd end the war in iraq. i did. i said that we'd go after al qaeda. they've been decimated in the fatah. that we'd go after bin laden. he's gone. so i've executed on my foreign policy, and it's one that the american people largely agree with. so, you know, if governor romney is suggesting that we should start another war, he should say so. >> alex, what's he trying to do there? >> well, first i think what the president is trying to do is, you know, there's been a very consistent critique of his performance on foreign policy from the right, that the obama administration has not been supportive enough of allies like israel, has not been assertive enough with iran. what obama's trying to do is claim a sort

, it's great to see you this morning. the latest polling is show that president obama is ahead, anywhere from five to eight points in virginia. that's where the two candidates will be today. romney is writing off all the battleground polling putting the president in the lead. he did so specifically yesterday on abc. take a listen. >> i'm very please wtd some polls. less so with other polls. but frankly at this early stage, polls go up, polls go down. i don't expect to get 100% of the vote. i know i'm not going to bet 100%. i hope to get 50 plus percent and make sure that i become the next president. >> as we look at this realistically, 40 days to go, we have gallup daily tracking putting romney within four points of the margin of error. the romney campaign and the republican super pacs have only just begun unleashing its ma massive campaign cash. can romney use the debates, use all of that money in reserve to reverse his fortunes going forward? >> well, we don't put much stock in polls, good or bad, at this point, particularly 40 days out. we are coming in to the debater isries

have shown that barack obama is losing a little bit in foreign policy and they seem to sense maybe there's an opportunity there. here he is criticizing the president for his handling of the libyan consulate attack. >> i think there have been a number of members in the administration, including state department who said this was a terrorist attack. the white house and the president are continuing not to admit what their own administration is saying, and i think it's pretty clear that they haven't wanted to level with the american people. >> the campaign obviously things they can get some traction on that. do you think they can? >> i thank can because on this case the facts are kind of on his side. i mean the obama administration's reaction to the libyan attack, specifically blaming it on the video for ore a week really wasn't a fine moment for him. he should level with the american people. if you don't know anything, don't say anything. he can get traks. he made some missteps and so he was unable to take vax of that as much as he could. but he definitely can do so in the future. >>

. >> well, of course. i'm going to repeal obama care. i've said that on the campaign trail. i think every single day obama care must be repealed in its entirety. >> he was for it before he was against it. and that auto bailout -- >> you said, quote, if general motors, ford, and chrysler gets the bailouts that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the automotive industry good-bye. >> that's exactly right. if you write a check, they are going to go out of business. >> my own view was that they needed to go through bankruptcy before government help and finally that's what the president did. so i'll take a lot of credit that this industry has come back. >> see, he told the president to let detroit go bankrupt so he should take the credit for saving detroit. and he's just as hapless on taxes. >> raise taxes with obama care but he's got another taxes in mind. >> governor romney doesn't need zingers. he needs to get his story straight. he needs to stop debating himself. and at the end of the day, this election isn't about one liners. just ask our president. >> i know folks in

's something important like football, well, look for the union label, america. barack obama and mitt romney and paul ryan have all seen fit to weigh in on this one football game from monday, on the referees issue. all three men saying that the green bay packers deserve to win that game. the packers got robbed. so even as the packers' agony crossed over into national politics this week, i still have to say that it remains true that the single west political green bay packers moment in history, the best moment of all time in the overlap that exists between the green bay packers and politics is still this moment. >> there are 30 teams, but only one packer organization, and that is the greatest football organization ever in america's history. there are only 187 days before training camp. and 360 days before we go back to miami! whereas the packers are america's real team, and we'll always be winners in the hearts and minds of the people of wisconsin, therefore i, tommy thompson, governor of the great state of wisconsin, do hereby proclaim january 27th, 1998, all over wisconsin, green bay packer

altogether. two days ago from this podium, president obama reiterated that the threat of a nuclear-armed iran cannot be contained. i very much appreciate the president's position, as does everyone in my country. we share the goal of stopping iran's nuclear weapons program. this goal unites the people of israel, it unites americans, democrats and republicans alike, and it is shared by important leaders throughout the world. what i have said today will help ensure that this common goal is achieved. le israel is in discussions with the united states over this issue, and i'm confident we can chart a path forward together. ladies and gentlemen, the clash between it need not be a clash between progress and tradition. the traditions of the jewish people go back thousands of years. they're the source of our collective values, the foundations of our national strength. at the same time the jewish people have always looked towards the future. throughout history we've been at the forefront of efforts to expand liberty, promote equality, and advance human rights. we championed these principles not in spit

the election and a new poll showing president obama leading mitt romney by five points, la ra ingram refused to participate in a republican battle against the polls. >> i will say that if the romney campaign's numbers were different all of them fox included if they had a different read than the polls in the swing states you would really hear a romney ryan push back against the overall numbers in those battleground states. you don't hear that. i don't think they are happy about it. but i think they believe they are running behind and you are seeing some tweaks to the romney campaign >> today iowa game the first swing state to start the voting for the president of the united states. the polls he showed president obama up eight points in that state. now suffolk university poll shows the president at 46%. the president remind ed what wa said. >> i have always said that change takes more than one term or more than one president. it takes more than one party. i can't happen if you write out half the nation before you take office. >> i don't know how many of you out there will be voting for me. but

to be trailing after the democratic convention. president obama is pulling ahead in the upper midwest. i think this may be less about -- this is only mitt romney, and mitt has to be mitt and it's all about mitt. this runs deeper than that. this is a sort of recentering of the american electorate we're witnessing. >> let's go back to the political article. it isn't the chair or the ho-hum convention or the looked video or stewart stevens or the improving economy or media bias or the message or mormonism. it's mitt. is it that simple? is the problem at the end of the day that it's the candidate himself? it's mitt romney who perhaps isn't what some thought he would be in terms of a candidate? >> i think it's some of the intangibles that surround the race, but i think largely it's the candidate himself. the problem, as i perceive it, is he's trying to please too many different bosses. he had to attack far to the right craig to win the primary process. he survived it. i thought there was going to be a leftward move towards the center to put him more where he was at the governor of massachusetts. it

to hit him on other things. >> one thing, though, ron, the obama campaign said, though, if romney loses ohio it is likely game over. is there a sense that the republican campaign is feeling that pressure? >> reporter: yeah. i think they're acknowledging they're behind. they don't believe it's game over and no republican president ever has gotten to the white house without taking ohio and even though he's behind, campaign insiders saying that their internal polling is much closer race than the public polls and will leave them where they are. they think they have a fight in ohio on their hands. >> ron mott reporting. now christin welker in bowling green. >> reporter: good afternoon to you. president obama just wrapped up his speech at bowling green state university. he spoke before a pretty excited crowd of more than 5,000 people. heard you talking about the importance of ohio. this is president obama's 13th trip to ohio just this year. so that gives you a sense of just how important it really is to his overall campaign strategy and it comes about a week before early voting begins here in

class. >> on one hand, obama's idea, economic patriotism appears to be selling tax hikes on the wealthy, more government spending on infrastructure, also the centerpiece of a new tv ad that has the feel of a campaign closing argument. >> it is time for a new economic patriotism, rooted in the belief that growing our economy begins with a strong, thriving middle class. >> but don't let it escape you that this economic patriotism line is also an implicit hit on romney. we first hird it from ted strickland during his speech which was a rough one at the democratic convention. >> mitt has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport. it summers on the beaches of the came and islands and winters on the slopes of the swiss alps. >> when it comes to next wednesday's debate, both are trying to prove their candidate will be the least articulate gap prone guy on stage. >> the president is an eloquent, gifted speaker, he will do just fine. >> mitt romney has an advantage, he has been through 20 debates in the primaries in the last year. >> barack obama is an effective debater.

than barack obama. he has to throw some punches. he can't just kind of go in there sort of apologetically and be very gentle with obama. he has to really throw some punches and show people why he's the better candidate. i think a lot of these polls are a little bit overstated. i think the democrats have been oversampled in a lot of polls, and i don't think there's that huge of a gap between romney and obama. nonetheless, he has to make a really strong stand in the first debate. this is probably the most important debate for him at this point in the campaign. >> i don't want to let that statement about polls go unanswered. eugene robinson's piece today is about what he calls the new conspiracy. republicans diluted that there are skewed polls. paul ryan was the latest one to join on the bandwagon last night talking about wisconsin. >> i don't believe that particular poll. i won't get into the methodologies about it. >> they weren't talking about a specific poll in na statement, which sounds like it doesn't matter to him which poll it is but it's tainted. what's your take o

to a new "washington post"/abc news poll, president obama has a two-point lead holding there, 49%, 47%. same score in the new politico poll. obama by two, 49/47. "the new york times" this weekend reported on the two campaigns' ongoing debate preps. here is what they they said about romney's prep. quote, mr. romney's team has clon included that the debates are about creating moments and has eye quipped had i am with a series of zingers he's memorized and has been practicing on aides since august. bob shrum, you have been on that particular role, preparing candidates for debate. what do you make of romney, a rather stiff customer to begin with, coming off as sort of a henne youngman or whatever, some sort of a don rickels with some zingers. i don't think of him as a zinger kind of guy which obama is expected to be left helpless. what do you make of that strategy? >> first of all, if you had it, you wouldn't announce it. it's kind of stupid. >> why are they leaking it? >> i don't know. because they're trying to hold onto their people, they're undisciplined, i have no idea. number two, zi

'm just okay. >> president obama is a very experienced speaker, experienced debater. he's dub this before. this is mitt's first time on this kind of a stage. >> we've suspected all along that mitt romney will have a good night. he's prepared more than any candidate and he's shown himself to be a very good debate over the years. >> but on "meet the press" it was apparently governor chris christie who went off script who said he's going to have to beat the result if mitt romney is going to come out on top in november. >> on wednesday night, mitt romney is going to be standing on the same stage as the president of the united states and i'm telling you, david, come thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change. >> we'll see if he's right. but what chris christie says is right as predicted if you're mitt romney. donors are nervous, and perhaps in christie's mind his assertion was an atelt to boost the morral of romney's supporters. the bottom line, if christie's aspirations do not come true, romney has bigger problems. people who pay no federal tacks and get government

for the obama campaign? >> let me be clear from the beginning. we're running like we're ten points behind. we don't have rose-colored glasses on here. the reaction is there's a reaction across the state. it provided context behind the policies. he wrote off 47%. hard-working people who have worked their entire lives, paying in medicare and social security but gave an explanation for his policies. just this weekend he said that even though he made $13 million last year, he should pay a lower rate on his income taxes than somebody making $50,000. it explains why he'd raise taxes on middle-class families by paying for $5 trillion tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires. i think that's beginning to crystallize across the state of ohio snow y ohio. >> they're dismissing all of these battleground polls calling them flawed. here's what one romney aide had to say spiskly about ohio. take a look. >> the question was if we lose ohio can we win. say if ifs and nuts and candy were buts every day would be christmas. >> what do you make of that? >> it's hard to make out the comments in the state of ohio

. president obama masks are out selling mitt romney's masks by nearly 40%. congratulations, mr. president. when you think about it, mitt romney's been hiding behind a mask this entire election. a mask he only takes off in quiet rooms, behind closed doors, when he's talking to wealthy donors. but voters don't seem to like it much. and a new fox news poll, yes, fox news poll, shows romney trailing nationally by five points. and get this, he has a lower favorable rating than george w. bush. don't adjust your tv set. mr. romney is less liked than bush. huh? maybe that's something to do with the fact that he can't seem to answer basic questions. >> how was that? >> i have nothing. >> guys, here we go. >> guys -- it's just -- all we've got here is beef jerky? who here wants a piece of beef jerky? that's all i've got. this was given to us by jack link. >> what do you have planned for the weekend? >> anyone else? >> governor romney, they were asking about the debates, about the israeli prime minister, not about beef jerky. now, romney did answer questions from reporters later. but this is what he

be getting tougher for gop challenger mitt romney. first to iowa. president obama is 49% to mitt romney's 5%. >>> and from the columbia dispatch--this has surrogates from both parties sangled today over who's better equipped to guide the economy over the next four years. >> the president hay has created 4 million new manufacturing jobs. he says he's going to reduce the debt. doesn't say how' goegsing to do it. let's be fair here, governor romney has laid out a vision and a direction for this country. let's hold the president to the same standard as well. >> first of all, we have a deficit plan, it's got health care savings. romney doesn't have a deficit plan. he's got a plan to cut taxes for millionaires and billionaires. he's got a 5 trilli$5 trillion. -- another $2 trillion in defense spending. >> just three days into the first presidential debate, meanwhile mitt romney is off to the trail. we have two reports, we begin with nbc's peter alexander, he's with the romney campaign in boston, with a good morning to you, peter. what are you hearing about all the debate preps today. he o'clock n

by the end of the month? >> do you know that mccain beat obama on election day, and obama got it in early voting. >> things can change overnight with a great debate performance, but again, mark hallprin, time is running out. >> he's still behind in too many places to win. he doesn't have as of today an obvious electoral college path, and he's not going to make it up on the ground with enthusiasm anymore. >> let's bring it kristen welker at the white house for you. by the end of the mow, 30 states are casting early absentee ballots, that includes five battleground states. is the president's team confident they can keep governor romney from closing the gaps as we see in the polls as of today? >> good morning, alex. i think the obama team is confident but they're cautious. they're six weeks until election day. that's a lifetime when it comes to politics. folks have already started to turn out for early voting. we have a graphic of what we've seen so far. it shows that obama campaign supporters are actually leading right now in terms of voter turnout as compared to romney supporters. i've spo

" article talking about the debates in which you quote "republican strategists fretting over obama's recent rise, said the debates could be the last best chance for romney to deliver a decisive blow, change the narrative and steady his campaign." that's quite a tall order, david. sounds like a level of desperation there and desperation then leads to mistakes as we've seen in the past. is that a worry at all for the romney camp? i've heard some analysts say that he needs a hail mary. i mean, is it that dramatic? >> absolutely. the romney camp won't come out and say that. everybody sort of tries to downplay expectations before these things. all eyes are on romney. he's trailing in the polls nationally and in the swing states. he said to his supporters, hey, you know, when i name a running mate and when i'm at my convention you're going to see the bumps. you haven't seen sustained bumps. this is his chance to do it. he's running out of chances. 60 member people could watch these debates. this is a big chance for him. >> the challenger gets a butch just for sharing a stage with the president in

reading on -- reads of the morning. president obama makes another trip to ohio. romney definitely needs to put ohio back in play. the president simile wants to put it away. >>> today romney is out with a straight-to-camera ad. the ad itself is a bit of an admission that the 478% comments have done serious damage and the attacks on his personal wealth are also sinking in. take a look at the ad. >> president obama and i both care about poor and middle-class fami families. the difference is my policies will make things better for them. we shouldn't measure compassion by how many people are on welfare. we should measure compassion by how many people are able to get off welfare and get a good-paying job. >> worth noting, that's his first candidate-to-camera ad. this morning the obama campaign have another ad out hitting on the 47% comment. this is what it looks like. >> when mitt romney dismissed 47% of americans for not pulling their weight, he attacked millions of hard-working people making $25,000, $35,000 a year $40,000 a year. romney paid just 14% last year on over $13 million in income

an advantage president obama held in ohio in three polls last week, worth noting the president has a lead that is outside the margin of error. for governor romney, time that cruel, cruel mistress is slipping away. early voting begins in ohio next tuesday. can he win without the state? if history is any judge no republican in history has won without ohio. according to the latest nbc news battleground map the president is expected to get 243 electoral votes to romney's 191. with eight tossup states. obama win in ohio with its 18 electoral votes would put him at 261 electoral votes, that is just nine away from winning re-election. surprising exactly no one ohio has been a top focus for candidates. while governor romney logged 17 trips to the state this election cycle president obama is making his 13th visit this year alone. earlier this month the democratic ticket made clear just how much ohio means to them. >> if we win ohio, we win the election. >> if we win toledo, we will win ohio. and if we win ohio we'll win this election. >> john heilemann, there has been no shortage of love for the s

, mitt romney and president obama hit the same state for the third day in a row. today it's virginia. the president will speak at a rally at a virginia beach am amphitheater. as we told you yesterday, virginia is likely to be this year's florida or ohio. the state where returns will mostly resemble the national number. if you want to know how important virginia is to both campaigns, look at where they are buying their tv ads. four of the top ten most saturated tv markets in the country this week are all in virginia. roanoke lynchburg market, and now washington d.c. which of course reaches into northern virginia. three more of the top ten are in ohio. the president leads by five to eight points. today the romney campaign will focus on local issues hitting the president on defense cuts. it's clear the 47% issue is a drag on romney's campaign. he went out of his way at every stop yesterday to show a more compassionate side. >> i've been across this country. i think the president cares about the people of america. i care about the people in america but i know how to help the people of am

waiting for this day for a long time. >> obama voters showed up in full force today in iowa. the election has begun in the first swing state with early voting. and the obama campaign isn't letting up. >> my job is not to worry about those -- >> tonight, dnc chairwoman debbie wasserman-schultz on the democratic effort to get out the vote in iowa and beyond. >>> "mother jones" unearthed yet another lost romney tape from his bain years. >> bain capital is an investment partnership. >> i'll ask robert reich what mitt romney means when he says he's harvesting companies. >>> if it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. >> and the guy who has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to women has the nerve to call senator claire mccaskill unladylike. we'll bring you the latest on the todd akin disaster. good to have you with us tonight, folks. thank for watching. iowa kicked off the 2012 election in january. today it was the first state where people could cast their votes in person for the general election. the race is on. the race h

park residents, homeless people and african-americans in counties president obama won in 2008. tonight the fox affiliate in denver, colorado is reporting the state republican party has terminated its relationship with the same voter registration firm accused of fraud down in the state of florida. it happened after this videotape surfaced of a young woman only registering voters who support mitt romney. >> i am polling people but do you vote for romney or obama? >> i thought you were registering voters a minute ago. >> i am, i am. >> and who are you registering? all voters? >> i'm actually trying to register people for a particular party because we're out here in support of romney actually. i am. >> and who is paying you for this? >> oh, the -- let me see, we're working for the county clerk's office. >> okay. you cannot come out here -- >> working for the county clerk's office. that means taxpayer dollars goes to that teen-age person to go out and register people who are going to vote for mitt romney. the fox affiliate confirmed the woman worked for the republican firm. this is what hap

hopes to make noise in ohio to stir up support in a key state. meanwhile, president obama hopes to hear the sound of violence. what he says about the mideast turmoil besides bumps in the roads will be worth watching. education nation. nbc news is hosting leaders from across the country for a forum on the future of our schools. we'll talk to castro about what's working in his town. and 12 years into the war in afghanistan, find out what the top u.s. commander has to say about that country's future. good morning. this is "the daily rundown". i'm chuck todd. we're just outside the education nation summit at the new york public library where msnbc news is playing host to leaders from around the country. this hour we're going to hear from the keynote speaker. but first. let's get to my first read of the morning. mitt romney will campaign more aggressively in battleground states this week than we've seen in a while. beginning today in colorado and then crisscrossing ohio on crucial bus tour. while the president tries everything he can do to let the united nations meeting come and go without m

different messages. as president obama widens his ohio lead in the latest polls, joining me for our daily fix, chris cizilla, managing editor of post politics.com and "washington post" political reporter karen tu multi. chris, first talk about the polls. how significant is it the double-digit lead in some polls now, cbs/"new york times" poll, the trend first in "the washington post" and our wall street journal/nbc news polls as well, is ohio moving fairly steadily into the obama camp? >> i would say the answer to that at the moment is yes. the post on monday did move ohio from a tossup state to a lean obama state. not just because of our poll that showed him up eight points but because of the wealth of data we've had out there. i would say as a word of caution, i don't think anyone including the obama team thinks they are going to win ohio by eight or ten points. they are ahead at the moment. they're probably ahead and think they may win by three, four, five points, but remember how critical ohio is to mitt romney's math. hard to see how he gets to 270 electoral votes without it. why he's

mitt has been matching obama small ball for small ball. a hit-and-run critique here. this is important. a hit-and-run critique here, a slogan of the week there. that's what we've been saying. sam stein, there is no over arching message, no reagan message, no thatcher message, no george h.w. bush message in 1988. it's small ball. you have a libyan embassy blow up. you push him out the next morning and do something that even the romney campaign now understands was an absolute disaster. the president makes a faux pa about a bump in the road which was a stupid thing to say but they obsess over that. they say this is the message. this is how we're getting people back to work and change the economy clearly they're chasing after news headlines trying to win the day. >> that is a good way to put it. they're chasing. >> but it's weird because you can argue they're racing after the wrong news headlines. for instance we spent a couple days obsessing over a 1980s or 1990s redistribution quote from obama right? that was the news of the day for the romney campaign at that time. we gave more attentio

early voting, we would be looking at the latest poll and saying in this latest poll obama is up by 7 in iowa. i wonder if he'll hold on to that lead until election day. but now you look at the polling in iowa and say obama is up by 7 in iowa and people are voting in iowa as of this week. with early voting, every day from now until november 6th is election day. that not only saps some of the value out of the debates, which start next week, it also undercuts the potential potency of october surprise. in the associated press write up of this early voting phenomenon this year, the write up, they quote a professor who is an expert on election statistics. if you have the game changer, you've got to do that soon. if you wait until the weekend prior to the election to release your stink bomb, you've lost coloradans, and he's right. that's one of the battleground states where most ballots are expected to be cast early. by election day, colorado will already be mostly decided. so if you're losing today, at this point in the campaign, hurry up and fix it. mitt romney's campaign adviser said bac

, romney said his health care plan up in massachusetts, the one that the obama plan is modeled after, shows his compassion. let's listen. >> throughout this campaign as well we've talked about my record in massachusetts. don't forget, i got everybody in my state insured, 100% of the kids in our state have health insurance. i don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record. >> well, shortly after that, very shortly, a matter of two hours or so, romney spoke before a toledo, ohio, crowd to denounce obama's affordable care act which is based on his massachusetts plan. let's listen. >> i will repeal obama care and replace it with real health care reform. obama care is really exhibit number one of the president's political philosophy, and that is that government knows better than people how to run their lives. >> well, there you have it. i think -- i don't know what you can say. he's talking to ron allen, a straight news reporter. this is the third episode here in a matter of hours. at a univision forum last week, romney adm

, but president obama has the momentum. the latest ten-day poll average from "real clear politics" shows president obama with nearly a five-point lead. iowa voters were out in full force starting at 7:00 this morning. one election commissioner said this could be a record-breaking year. >> this was by far the busiest opening day we've had in the ten years i've been in the office. we were thinking 100 people. 100 would have been a good number. that's what it was four years ago. we're well past that. we're not to noon yet. >> look at the early voting numbers from 2008 to see how big a record breaker it could be this year. 2008, 33% of all ballots were cast before election day. early voting favored barack obama over john mccain by 18 points. 58% to 40%. this year, 27 states and washington, d.c., will have early in-person voting prior to election day. the campaigns are estimating an early voting participation at around 40% this year. two out of every five ballots will be filled out before november 6th in this election cycle. today is truly the beginning of the end of the presidential election. but one

. >> michelle obama is encouraging young voters to get to the polls. like right now. the first lady spoke to college students in iowa friday, urging them to go into nearby early voting booths to cast their ballots. >> you got a whole month to make it happen. a whole month to vote! as i tell my children, don't procrastinate. no procrastination. make it happen. do it today. >> joining me now, political reporter for "the washington post" felicia somnez and white house correspondent for the hill, amy barnes. good morning. >> good morning. >> so, amy, i'm going to start with you. on libya, earlier this week the president said on "the view" that he thought it was an act of terrorism. why is this being perceived as such a big reversal now? >> well, i think you're seeing them respond to susan rice, as we mentioned before, and other people in the administration who initially blamed the protests and the violence on the video. now they're sort of walking it back that this is a dramatic shift. what remains to be seen is how the administration, and how team obama the campaign will handle this. so far

. paul ryan gushed over president obama's skills on the debate stage. >> president obama is a very -- he's a very gifted speaker. the man's been on the national stage for many years. he's an experienced debater. >> shockingly, senior white house adviser david plouffe had the same feelings about governor mitt romney. >> we'd expect it all along that governor romney will have a good night. he's prepared more than any candidate in history and shown himself to be a good debater through the years. >> even the candidates were tamping down expectations yesterday. >> i don't think anyone would suggest the debates aren't important. i can't tell you how important it will be. i don't know what will happen at the debates. >> governor romney is a good debater. i'm just okay. >> the soft performance has gotten so soft it's almost evaporated. but while almost everyone seems to be muting enthusiasm in trying to undersell new jersey governor chris christie is taking a different tack. overselling with gusto. >> come thursday morning, the entire narrative of this race is going to change. we have a candidat

. president obama and millions of americans are calling on billionaire owners to get rid of scab refs and bring back the union workers. tonight i'm camming out mitt romney for attacking some other working professionals. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> i think governor romney and a number of folks try to politicize the issue and do a lot of teacher bashing. >> the president goes after mitt romney on education. and right on cue, mitt romney goes after the teachers. >> the teachers union has a responsibility to care for the interests of the teachers. >> former governor howard dean and atlanta mayor react to mitt romney's educated mess. >>> scott walker and paul ryan come out against union busting. eugene robinson and bill roden on why the nfl gets what it paid for. and on national voter registration day, ten million latino voters are in danger of being disenfranchised. we'll bring you the shocking details of a new report that could swing the election to mitt romney. being disenfranchised. we'll bring you the shocking details of a new report that could swing the election to m

start with the big one. next weiss' first huge bedate between barack obama and mitt romney. no matter what we say now trying to figure this thing out, it's impossible to know what it will feel like when these two men meet, shake hands, and take their positions. the studio where we do "hardball" in washington was the sight of the second great debate between richard nixon and john f. kennedy. right before that debate the kennedy brothers arrived to discover something weird had happened. the temperature was meat locker level. so cold they couldn't believe it and they knew why. kennedy's television adviser went racing to the basement and found nixon's guy standing watch on the thermostat. nixon had sweated in that first debate and it cost him. this time the nixon people were intent on freezing the room so cold that nixon couldn't sweat at all. well, after a standoff in that basement in our headquarters and some threats to call the police, they agreed to bring the temperature up. well, think this stuff doesn't matter? it all matters. just like everything we do, wear, look like, act like, s

. number two, he needs help. the obama campaign has to stumble or a current event that reflects badly on the president. i think the first is possibly. governor romney is a very good debater. he won almost all of the republican debates except south carolina. he's adept at debating and disciplined du disciplin disciplined debates and sounds like a president. he'll do well in the first debate. as far as the second thing happening, it's not likely. the obama campaign is doing a good job of staying safe of running out the clock. >> romney's fate is not totally in his hands at this point? >> i think so. the margin has widened enough so he can't make all that ground with a good debate performance. >> the candidates have duelling straig straight-to-camera ads out. >> president obama and i care about poor and middle class families. the difference is my policies will make things better for them. >> if i could sit down with you in your living room or around the kitchen table, here's what i would say. today i believe that as a nation we are moving forward again. we have much more to do. >> so gov

romney says he needs to get some of those folks who voted for president obama four years ago to maybe consider switching and polling for him. he did that again last night in denver. take a listen. >> i need you to commit to do something. i need you to each find at least one person who voted for barack obama last time and convince -- oh, they're just fine. we need them to come vote for me this time. >> reporter: that may be a tough sell here in ohio for some, especially those who are in the auto industry. one out of eight jobs here, thomas, connected to the auto industry. of course, governor romney was not a fan of the government bailout of the auto industry. back to you. >> we'll see how the retail politics goes over the next three days. nbc's ron mott, thank you. want to bring in our political power panel, dana millbank from "the washington post." keith boykin, contributor and b.e.t. columnist and msnbc contributor susan. good to have you all here. dana, i want to start with you. there's this new poll that is putting the president ahead of mitt romney nationally. now, within that sam

state. this is an important state for romney, it's an important state for obama, but claire has definitely got a tough race ahead of her. >> thanks for joining me tonight, karen. >> thanks lawrence. >> tomorrow night, missouri senator claire mccaskill. "the ed show" is up next. >>> can't wait for the debate. let's play "hardball." >>> good evening. i'm chris matthews up in new york. let me start with the big one, next week's first huge debate between barack obama and mitt romney. no matter what we say now trying to figure this thing out, it's impossible to know what it will feel like when these two men meet, shake hands, and take their positions. the studio where we do "hardball" in washington was the site of the second great debate between richard nixon and john f. kennedy. right before that debate the kennedy brothers arrived to discover something weird had happened. the temperature was meat locker level. so cold they couldn't believe it, and they knew why. kennedy's television adviser went racing to the basement and found nixon's guy standing watch on the thermostat. nixon ha

himself. he was in a position to make it one point obama and his presidency the issue. he's lost that chance by what happened at the convention. >> actually, i think he might have lost that chance when he picked paul ryan as his running mate. >> absolutely. lynn is absolutely right. >> that's -- that is where that turned. before then, i think it was a referendum on obama's tenure as the leader of our economy. >> right. he had bob portman, he had a perfect chance to win ohio to say i'm a centrist mainstream republican. here i am. i told you people on the right where i stand on things. i'm now not going to pick the most radical, both fis fiscally and in terms of physical policy guy in washington of any influence. he went to ryan and he stuck with him now and he brought him nothing, ryan. >> charlie crist, a rmepublican and now independent and he does support president obama. governor, good to see you. to carl's point as well as lynn's and let's talk about this selection of paul ryan. you come from a state obviously with a very large older population, key voting bloc. they vote in b

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